Enough with iPhone knock-offs! Time for a BlackBerry knock-off

We’ve seen a number of iPhone knock-offs coming from mainland China, but a knock-off BlackBerry is something rare – world, meet BlackBeey. Between Taiwan and China, there is always some sort of healthy rivalry. And while we saw numerous iPhone knock-offs coming directly from China, Taiwanese manufacturers are a little bit more upscale, "targeting businesses worldwide". Under a name BlackBeey, nameless Taiwanese company was selling knock-off versions of BlackBerry Storm [BlackBeey w9530]. Not satisfied with just copying the multi-touch 9550 Storm and the company just launched a knock-off of BlackBerry Tour 9630, named BlackBeey H628.

The specifications listed on Ali-baba’s e-Commerce website are quite impressive. For starters, this is a quad-band phone [GSM kind, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz] with integrated WiFi [802.11b/g] and a TV tuner that supports PAL, NTSC and SECAM. The screen is actually a touchscreen, something my personal BlackBerry 9000 Bold would welcome. Truth to be told, the screen resolution is one notch smaller than Bold, a 2.46" LCD with 320×240 pixels. Not to get lost, there is also an electronic compass.

Funny though, but the cellphone comes with two cameras: 2.0 MPixel with flash at the back of the phone, and 0.3 Mpixel in the front – for video conferencing [which probably won’t be used? ever]. With support for 2000 SMS, SMS-CB and MMS messages and 2000 entries into the contact database, this device certainly packs some punch. The expandable memory is a bit weak, though – H628 only comes with 128MB of RAM and is expandable to 4GB by using a bundled 4GB T-Flash SD card. And in case you’re wondering what kind of operating system is packed inside BlackBeey H628, the answer is a simple one – Google Android.

At the end of the day, for as long as they’re Chinese and Taiwanese of this world, there is going to be a knock-off from the popular designs on the market. But what we don’t understand is why a company with capable engineers would go and steal the design from an American or Canadian company? the products are good to succeed on their own merit – but no, a multiple infringement [design, patents etc.] has to be achieved or this would not be a Chinese/Taiwanese company.

With a blatant policy of even stealing Blackberry’s logo, no wonder that some of our partners are crying out to get rid of Far Eastern stigma. Then again, it’s not that some of these companies aren’t ripping designs from Western companies as well?

About the AuthorTheo Valich

Focused on creating synergy between various industries, creating next-gen solutions.Passionate about the new and emerging technologies. Work experience spans from game development and event organizing, editing magazine and on-line publications to aerospace development.Specialties: Team Leadership / Management / Technical Consultant / Funding.Enjoys travelling around the world and meeting new people. :)